


just kiss like real people do

by steamingcupoftea



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: AU where everyone lives and they just work a normal office job, Danny is alive because I said so, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Getting Together, I just want them to be happy, Mutual Pining, Rated T for swearing, Sharing a Bed, canon atypical lack of worms, the magnus archives is an office comedy, they're both in love okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24859486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steamingcupoftea/pseuds/steamingcupoftea
Summary: The little white lie Tim told Danny months ago has got him in a mess right before his little brother's wedding, but he thinks that with a little help from Sasha that he can keep the lie going just long enough to keep Danny happy.----Tim could feel that this would be a bad idea. Of course it would, especially since he still had feelings for her, but it would be fine. They’d go to the wedding, have a grand old time, make Danny happy, and then… Well, and then once his brother got back from his honeymoon he’d break the news that he and Sasha just hadn’t worked out. Then things would be right back to normal…
Relationships: Sasha James/Tim Stoker
Comments: 51
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first proper fic that I've written in probably six years, so thanks Jonny for actually motivating me to write something for the first time in ages. It feels wild to write again. 
> 
> I got this idea like a month ago, fleshed out the plot, and then it sat in a google doc for a couple weeks. Now I'm actually committed to finishing it. Please yell at me if I don't, you have full permission to get angry in the comments if this isn't finished in the next two weeks. 
> 
> Thanks to @pepperpotsnpans for beta-ing and for putting up with me. This fic wouldn't have happened without her being there to soundboard off of and to yell at me to do shit. That's real friendship right there. 
> 
> Title from Hozier's "Like Real People Do"

“Perfect, I really can’t wait to finally meet her!” Danny said over the phone, making Tim wince once more. 

“Yeah, me neither. Alright, I really need to be getting back to work before the bossman gets mad at me. I’ll call you later, yeah? Love you,” Tim said, hanging up the phone immediately after his brother said his goodbyes and proceeding to drop it on his desk. “God, I’m so  _ stupid _ ,” he groaned, dropping head into his hands while simultaneously throwing himself backwards in his chair, causing it to roll back from his desk. 

“Hello stupid, I’m Sasha,” he heard, breaking him out of his thoughts for a moment in order to snort.

“Best you could come up with?” he asked, looking over at Sasha as she came into the office with a stack of files.

She just shrugged, setting the papers down on her desk and pushing her glasses up further onto the bridge of her nose. “Felt fitting. Now, what’s got you riding the self hate train? Didn’t you just get off the phone with your brother? Normally that’s got you all.. you know, grinning like an idiot,” she asked, sitting down at her desk and gesturing vaguely at him. 

Tim sighed and leaned back in the chair, staring up at the ceiling. “Normally I  _ would _ be grinning like an idiot, but right now I’m just an idiot.”

That made Sasha snort, causing Tim to feel a little bubble of success build up in him. “Care to elaborate? Or have you just finally accepted your status as the resident idiot?” 

“First of all, rude. I am  _ so _ not the resident idiot. I don’t know who is, but if anything it is a rotating title.  I will take resident himbo, but that is all. Second, I suppose I can elaborate by saying a… white lie I told has gotten out of proportion,” he said, wincing again as he thought of his mistake.

Now that seemed to intrigue Sasha as she walked over to his desk, grinning like a madwoman. “Oh, now you  _ must  _ share with the class,” she said, eyes glinting. Tim always did like that slightly crazed look she got when she knew she was about to learn something new, especially if it meant it could be bullying ammo. 

He groaned, dropping his head into his hands for a moment. “I told him that I had a girlfriend,” he mumbled, Sasha giving him a raised eyebrow.

“And? Don’t see how that makes you an idiot,” she asked, perching herself on the corner of his desk and looking down at him. 

Tim sighed and threw his head back, looking up at the ceiling. “Well, you know how his wedding is next weekend?” 

“You mean the wedding that you’ve been talking about nonstop for the last... What? Six months? Yes, I do believe I recall you mentioning said wedding.”

Tim just rolled his eyes, not bothering to come up with a witty comeback. He supposed he had talked about it a bit. Not his fault he was excited for his baby brother. And besides, as the best man he had been rather involved with everything. 

“Yes, well, now he expects me to bring said nonexistent girlfriend to said wedding. And I, like an idiot, promised him she’d be there,” he sighed, looking back over at Sasha. “And now I don’t know what to  _ do _ . Sash, I can’t tell him I’ve lied! He’ll be all sad! I mean, it’s his wedding, this is supposed to be a happy time!” he groaned. “I can’t make my baby brother sad.”

He only pouted further upon hearing Sasha let out a laugh. “Looks like you’ve got yourself into  _ quite  _ the predicament, then. So you have what? Two options? One, call him back and admit you lied, possibly making him sad… Or two, bring a fake girlfriend to the wedding.” 

Immediately, Tim’s brain started going a mile a minute, hand coming up to rest on his chin and eyes widening. Sasha was brilliant, really. A genius. 

“That last one was mostly a joke, Timothy!”

Tim shook his head, a grin already forming. “No, but Sash, that’s perfect! I mean, I haven’t exactly told him a lot of details about my not-girlfriend, just that we met through work and we’ve been dating for like seven months, and have date night every Friday, so th-”

“Hold on,” Sasha cut him off, her eyebrows raised sternly, “Friday nights are our pub nights.”

His sheepish grimace said all that she needed to know, judging by Sasha’s sigh and roll of her eyes. “Is this you asking me to be your fake, emphasis on  _ fake _ , girlfriend?” she asked, pushing up her glasses to rub at her eyes. 

He did his best to put on the best puppy dog eyes he could manage, bottom lip pouting as he reached out and gently took one of her hands in his. “ _ Please _ , Sash? I will do absolutely anything for you in return. Pub nights for the next  _ year _ would be on me! I’ll even take over doing all of your statement follow ups! Anything!” 

After what felt like years of waiting, but was probably only a minute, Sasha sighed and fixed her glasses. She looked down at him, clearly unsure of the whole thing, but… Well, there was something in her gaze that Tim couldn’t place. “The cake better be  _ really _ good.”

Tim immediately let go of her hand, his office chair rolling back with how quickly he stood up, and punched his fist into the air. “The cake is going to be bloody  _ fantastic _ , I promise. God, thank you so much, Sash. You’re a lifesaver. Best friend a bloke could ask for really,” he said, leaning across his desk to press a kiss on her cheek. 

Sasha just rolled her eyes and huffed out a laugh as she got off of his desk and smoothed out her skirt. “You’re lucky to have a friend like me, Stoker. And you’re telling him we broke up a few weeks after the wedding. No letting this stretch out.”

“Whatever you want, promise. Scout’s honor,” he agreed, crossing his heart and holding up his right hand.

Tim could feel that this would be a bad idea. Of course it would, especially since he still had feelings for her, but it would be fine. They’d go to the wedding, have a grand old time, make Danny happy, and then… Well, and then once his brother got back from his honeymoon he’d break the news that he and Sasha just hadn’t worked out. Then things would be right back to normal… But it was fine, Danny would be happy and that was all that mattered. His brother would be happy thinking he was happy and he and Sasha would… Well, they’d be back to normal and really, wasn’t that the best he could ask for?

Sasha looked over at him like she wanted to say something, but Jon’s office door opened and the man himself shuffled out into the room holding up what looked like a statement. “Tim, I need you to follow up with Mrs. Thompson.”

“Righto, bossman!”


	2. Chapter 2

“What color dress am I buying, then? Or what color tie are you wearing? God, I can’t believe you asked me to do this so last minute. You’re lucky we don’t work weekends because if I had to ask Elias for days off so last minute I’d have throttled you,” Sasha sighed into the phone, running her hand through her hair as she stared at the dress racks. She didn’t know what the hell she was doing. What _was_ she doing? Why did she say yes to this? Why was she going to put herself through this? 

She listened as Tim explained that he’d be in a light blue suit with a yellow tie and he would send a picture of the outfit for her to color match to. She nodded absently and migrated towards the racks of yellow and blue dresses, idly flicking through them. “Alright, just send me the pictures and I’ll see what I can do. You still owe me,” she huffed, rolling her eyes and smiling a little as he sent a chorus of “I’m sorry”s and “I love you”s and “You’re the best”s, as well as another list of promises of ways to make it up to her. 

“Yeah, yeah. Just send me those pictures so I can get something before the shop closes, alright? I’ll talk to you later.”

She paused when he sent another “I love you” her way, biting at her lip and allowing a soft smile since she knew he couldn’t see. “I love you, too, idiot,” she said before taking the phone away from her cheek and ending the call. 

Sasha flicked through a couple of dresses while she waited for the picture, pulling out one and holding it up to her for a moment before shaking her head and setting it back in its place. She sighed a little, shaking her head and opening her phone to see if the picture came in yet, knowing full well it hadn’t. She was so focused on her phone that she jumped when she noticed one of the sales associates standing right next to her. 

“Sorry, sorry. Just... Out of it today, I suppose,” she said, laughing a little and trying to catch her breath. 

The woman chuckled and shook her head, waving a hand at her. “Oh, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I was just wondering if you needed any help finding something? I don’t mean to be rude, but I overheard your conversation and it sounds like you’re in need of something for an event? Does your partner tell you about things a bit last minute, too? Mine is the _worst_ at that,” she laughed, smiling with ease. 

“Yeah, my... idiot sort of sprung on me that I need to go to his brother’s wedding with him next weekend, so I need a dress that’ll match his suit,” she said, carefully not putting a name to what Tim was to her. She didn’t know why, but it felt wrong to call him her partner, but also… It felt wrong to say that he wasn’t? That was what they were pretending to be, after all. 

“Oh, that’s quite the event! Have you met his family before?” the woman asked, head tilting to the side with interest. 

Sasha’s eyes widened slightly, as she thought about it and shook her head. Somehow she hadn’t realized that going to this wedding meant that she would be meeting his _entire family_ . Of course she knew logically that they would all be there. Danny, Tim’s parents, his aunts, uncles, cousins…This wasn’t just going to be meeting the parents, this would be meeting _everyone_ and doing so as Tim’s _girlfriend_. “Um, no, not exactly.”

“Oh, so this is quite a big wedding that you’re going to! Well, we’ll have to find you a perfect dress, then! Are you trying to match him? Do you have any photos of what he’ll be wearing?”

Sasha nodded quietly, worrying her bottom lip as she let herself realize just how deep she’d gotten herself. “Yeah, uhhh, he should be sending it to me anytim-” she cut herself off as her phone vibrated, alerting her to a text message. “That should be the picture of his suit and tie now,” she explained, unlocking her phone and opening the text.

Her mouth went dry as she looked at the picture. She’d expected a picture of just the suit, maybe laid out on his bed or something, but instead what she’d got was him _wearing_ the suit. _wanted to give you the full lewk ;)_ The text read underneath, followed by another picture of just the suit and tie laid out, as she’d expected. Sasha didn’t know what to say, mouth open as she stared at the picture of him. Damn he looked good.

“Oh, well, he is quite the _catch_!” the other woman giggled, glancing over her shoulder at the phone screen and maybe blushing just a little. Sasha couldn’t even judge her, though, because she was doing just the same. Damn him.

“Yeah... He really is… Something else,” she said quietly, swallowing hard before doing her best to shake herself out of it. She had no business thinking like that. She couldn’t be. They were just pretending for a weekend and then it was back to normal. “Anyway... Suppose I can start looking for dresses now that I’ve got the color palette?”

“Yes, of course! Let’s see, perhaps something like this?” 

* * *

After about two hours of trying on dresses, Sasha finally walked out of the shop with a final wave and “thank you” to the sales associate. She really hadn’t expected to get so invested in getting a dress, but after seeing how Tim would look… Maybe she felt the need to need to impress him a little? Which was absolutely ridiculous, but… Well, this was technically supposed to be a big occasion of “meet the parents” and dammit it was a wedding. She was allowed to go all out. 

Sasha sent off a quick text to Tim, letting him know she’d finally gotten a dress, so all she’d need to do was pack a bag and then they would be able to head out Friday evening after work. He replied almost immediately with a string of emojis, followed by _pics?? ;)_ , which just made her roll her eyes and reply back with _Nope, didn’t take any. Guess you’ll just have to wait to see it on Saturday._ The progression of sad and crying emojis that came in reply made Sasha huff out a laugh before she tucked her phone back into her pocket, making her way down to the Tube. 

It was easy for her to get lost in her head as she rode home. Her thoughts danced from topic to topic, thinking about work and Mr. Miller’s statement that she still needed to write her followup on (this one was clearly just a scared old man, most likely not anything legitimately spooky), to what she would have for dinner (probably chicken and rice), to how the hell they were going to convince Martin to try and drop his crush on Jon (because really, he could do so much better), and then finally resting on what the fuck she was doing by pretending to be dating Tim (the judgment was still out on that one). 

She moved on autopilot as she got off the train and walked up the stairs, making her way down the couple blocks to her flat, all the while thinking about the mess she got herself in. It just all felt like she was playing into the “will-they, won’t-they storyline” that Tim had joked about weeks ago. And she really didn’t want to go ruining their friendship again, not like she had the first time when she turned him down.

Sasha put her key in the lock, turning the handle and letting out a loud sigh as she kicked off her shoes and shut the door behind her. As much as she wanted to flop down on the couch and crack open the book she’d been reading, she made her way into her bedroom, taking note that she’d need to water the plants tonight. 

Sighing again as she opened her wardrobe, carefully taking the dress out of the bag to hang it up, making sure it wouldn’t wrinkle. As she stared at the dress, her stomach churning uncomfortably, she made a promise to herself. She was not going to let this ruin things. She couldn’t, not when they’d finally gotten back to normal. No matter what happened that weekend, she wasn’t going to let her feelings get in the way. No, she’d allow herself the weekend of pretending and that would be it, then they’d go write back to friends and coworkers, nothing more. She nodded to herself and closed the wardrobe door, catching her reflection in the mirror on the wall. Looking at herself just made it all worse, though, and she let out a loud groan, pushing up her glasses to scrub at her face. 

“Why is my life a shitty rom-com?” she asked the empty room, dropping her hands to her sides and just staring at her reflection for a moment. “It’s fine, this weekend will mean… It’ll mean nothing more than me helping out my best mate to stop a meltdown… That’s all. Then come Monday it’ll all go back to normal, like always. No need for all _this_ , Sasha. You’re better than that,” she told herself, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. With one last heavy sigh, she turned on her heel and walked out of the bedroom, determined to stop dwelling on it all and just focus on making herself some dinner. She wouldn’t put any more energy into thinking about it until Thursday when she packed her bags. At least, that was what she told herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 will be up by June 27th, at the latest, but I've actually been motivated to write lately so expect it sooner. If it isn't up by then, you all have full permission to yell at me. 
> 
> Thanks for reading. You can find me on tumblr @steamingcupoftea


	3. Chapter 3

“I’ll pick you up in like an hour, yeah? Alright, see you soon! Love you!” Tim said into the phone before ending the call and glancing around at his suitcases. They were all mostly packed, so all he had to do was run down the checklist Danny had given him to make sure he had absolutely everything. He was determined to have it all go perfectly. 

As he sifted through the bags, checking off things on the list as he went, he couldn’t help but think about everything. He was really about to bring Sasha to Danny’s wedding, where she would meet his entire family… As his girlfriend. He was really starting to rethink jumping so quickly on Sasha’s (joke) suggestion. Sure, if they could pull it off it would keep Danny happy and no one would have to know that he’d lied, but… Was it worth the pain he’d be about to put himself through? Sasha was his friend, yeah, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want more. That was completely out of the question, though. She’d made that clear months ago. 

Tim sighed loudly and zipped up the first suitcase, taking his toiletries bag and heading into the bathroom. He grabbed his toothbrush off the counter, as well as the few bottles of hair product (it took effort to look as good as he did). Once they were gently placed in the bag, he looked up, staring directly at his reflection. 

“I really am the office idiot,” he mumbled to himself with a sigh. There was no use dwelling, though. They needed to leave for Sussex in an hour and then they’d be together for the whole weekend, including…  _ Shit _ . Including sharing the bedroom at the hotel. Of course they would, it wouldn’t make sense for them, a couple who’d been dating for  _ months _ to not share. “Why am I  _ really _ the office idiot?” he groaned louder, moving over to the shower to add the last of his products to the bag. 

It took almost forty minutes to finish all the packing, but once the suitcases were loaded into the car and he was done having his minor crisis, Tim sent a text off to Sasha saying that he was on his way to pick her up. The ride across London was a slow one, but it gave him all the more time to calm his emotions. He needed to focus on the fact that this was just her doing him a favor as his friend. That was all. Sure, they’d probably have to act really couple-y for the next few days, but it was all for show. She didn’t like him like that, she’d told him plenty of times. He was  _ not  _ her love interest in the stupid little sitcom that was their life. 

With that final thought, he pulled up outside of her flat and put the car in park, sending a quick  _ im here :) _ text to her. It was going to be a long two hour car ride. 

* * *

The first half hour of the ride was filled with discussion about what to expect from the weekend. Tim told Sasha all about the family that would be there, gave a hurried explanation that they would need to share the bedroom (which Sasha seemed to tense up a little, but nodded at curtly), and then a tense discussion about the fact that they would need to act like a proper couple. Tim had been most nervous about the latter, but Sasha seemed to have expected as much. They both agreed that hand holding and general closeness would be fine, but to keep kissing to a minimum, only doing so when it seemed right. After that, things seemed to get more comfortable, as if now that it was all out in the open there was a bit of breathing room. 

The rest of the ride was filled with cheery pop songs, Sasha rolling her eyes, and a lot of bad singing. It was almost like he could forget about how stressed he was. Almost. 

The hotel was small, a little manor out in the countryside, but it was plenty big enough for all the wedding guests. It was gorgeous, really, the perfect place for the wedding to take place at. It was all like a storybook. Especially with the sun setting behind it, it was picturesque. Tim pulled up and parked beside the car he knew was Danny’s, allowing himself to smile properly as he thought about the fact that his baby brother was really about to get married tomorrow. 

“God, this is… beautiful, really,” Sasha said beside him, snapping him back out of his thoughts. 

“Yeah it is. Danny really picked the perfect place. Well, I think it was Poppy who picked it, actually, but still. It’s perfect,” he agreed, taking a deep breath and stealing a glance over at Sasha. She was so in awe of the manor, bright eyes taking everything in. His heart clenched a little, but he brushed his thoughts aside. 

“Alright, Sash, ready to go into battle and meet the Stokers?” he asked with an easy smile. She seemed to take another moment of looking at the front gardens of the manor before turning to face him and the smile on her face almost took his breath away. 

“I’m absolutely ready to learn  _ all _ of your embarrassing childhood stories, Timothy.”

That startled a laugh out of him, shaking his head. “Oh, you’ll get plenty. I’m sure mum will want to tell you and Pops all sorts of stories about Danny and me. Come on, let’s head in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was sort of short, I wrote more but then decided I wanted a POV change so I had to do some reorganizing! The next one will be up very soon, though, I promise! Also, you might have noticed that I added two more expected chapters to make up for the POV switch here! Hope you liked it, thank you for the kudos and comments, they're very much appreciated!! 
> 
> Also, thanks again to my beta @pepperpotsnpans. I appreciate you putting up with my shit all for the power of pine sol.
> 
> Follow me on tumblr @steamingcupoftea and on my magnus sideblog @ijustlovetim, I mostly just reblog dumb shit.


	4. Chapter 4

Their room was just as beautiful as the rest of the manor with the large bed right in the middle of the room. Even if she wanted to suggest she sleep on a couch or something, that wouldn’t be an option as the couch looked far too small for her and was definitely not a pullout. At least the bed was large enough that they could probably escape without cuddling up too close and making things awkward? She shook the thoughts away and stepped inside, immediately going right over to the large window that looked out over the back gardens where the chairs and archway were set up for the ceremony, as well as the large tents for the reception. It was all so beautiful, really. She glanced behind her at Tim, who was in the process of hanging up his suit in the wardrobe. 

“What exactly does your brother do to afford a place like this? Or what does his fiancee do?” she asked, turning back to look over at him, making Tim grin. 

“Ha, yeah, nice place, right? I mean, they have been saving up for the wedding for a couple of years, but also he works for some big company as a software engineer. I don’t know, he does coding and computer stuff. You would probably understand more of it than I would, really. He’s just so brilliant and I really can’t keep up with it all. Just half of the words out of his mouth mean absolutely nothing to me. And I can understand Poppy only sort of better. She’s a photographer and stuff is really good! I get half of what she says when she talks about her job, but the other half is just too technical for me, you know? Like, who knew there was so much that went into taking really good photos? I definitely didn’t until I met her and -” Tim cut himself off, blushing a little. “Sorry, probably didn’t need that much information,” he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Sasha shook her head with a soft smile on her face. She wanted to tell him that it was fine, that he was cute when he went on about his family and that she loved seeing him get so animated and excited. However, a loud knocking at the door stopped her before she could even open her mouth. She frowned and looked over at Tim who just furrowed his brow a little, but yelled a “Come in!” at the door.

“Tim!” came a yell as the door burst open and a tall figure burst across the room, pulling Tim into a tight hug. 

She didn’t even need an introduction to know that this had to be Danny, the resemblance between them was so obvious. She watched as they both hugged each other like it’d been years since they last saw one another, Tim laughing and lifting his brother off his feet in the crushing hug that she knew so well. 

“About damn time you got here! Mum and Da somehow got here before even Poppy and I did!”

Sasha saw Tim just rolled his eyes as he let go of the other, reaching up to ruffle his brother’s hair a little. “Danny, I told you that I would be here later. We didn’t get off of work until four and then we had to finish packing and drive all the way out here!” 

Danny just seemed to accept that easily with another laugh, giving Tim another crushing hug before spinning around and giving her a big, toothy smile _.  _ “And it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Sasha! Tim’s told me all about you! I’d had no idea that his mystery girlfriend was also  _ The  _ Sasha James!” 

Sasha’s stomach dropped a little at hearing that Danny seemed to know so much about her, but she held her composure and smiled back at him. “Told you all about me, has he?” she asked, raising an eyebrow and shooting Tim a glance over Danny’s shoulder. 

Danny just laughed and shrugged a bit, not bothering to elaborate more, but he had a glint in his eye that made Sasha a bit nervous. Did he know about their past? Had Tim told him? Oh god, that was going to make everything a bit stickier. 

“Anyway, it is lovely to finally meet  _ The  _ Danny Stoker. Tim has been telling me all about you for years and he hasn’t stopped talking about the wedding since you proposed. Congratulations, by the way,” she continued, holding out her hand for a handshake. 

Danny just made a face, scrunching up his nose much like Tim did, and stepped forward, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. It made Sasha start to think that hugs weren’t just a Tim thing, but perhaps they were more of a Stoker thing. She didn’t really mind much, though. Ever since Tim wormed his way into her life, she’d sort of gotten used to casual hugs. 

“Thanks, really. Wild to think that the wedding is finally here,” he said with another happy laugh, pulling back and glancing over at Tim. “So, you two are coming to dinner in a bit, yeah? I mean, if you aren’t then you know mum is going to throw a fit,” Danny said, looking between the two of them. 

Sasha quickly glanced over at Tim, her smile maybe a little more strained than it had started out as. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude or anything if this is a family thing,” Sasha said quickly. While it made sense that they’d have dinner, she didn’t think she’d be invited to that? Especially since they only found out she was coming to the wedding a week and a half ago.

Danny just waved her off, still grinning widely at her. “Oh, stop it, don’t be ridiculous. You wouldn’t be intruding, everyone is  _ dying _ to meet you! Been a while since Timmy has brought anyone around to meet the family.”

Tim, bless him, seemed to sense her anxiety and jumped in with, “I mean, you don’t have to, Sash. I know it was a long day at work, so if you need to turn in early that’d be alright. Besides, we shouldn’t all be up too late, it’s a big day tomorrow.” She watched as he looked back at Danny. He’s always been expressive, but the nonverbal conversation that passed between the brothers was something else. It was like Danny seemed to understand every eyebrow quirk and had one of his own to respond with. 

She took a deep breath and thought for a moment, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. She would have to meet the family eventually, it wasn’t like she could put that off… And they wanted her there, so it would be rude to not go. Besides, it could be nice, much nicer than staying up in their room by herself would be. 

“No, it’s alright. I’ll come. I just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t be weird,” she decided, interrupting the silent conversation between the brothers. 

“Definitely won’t be, I promise. Poppy’s maid of honor is bringing her girlfriend, so you won’t even be the only non-family person there. It’ll be fun. Really laid back, I promise. Mum just wanted to have one last dinner with just the core family and friends before tomorrow,” Danny said, clapping his hands together, the full force of his infectious smile turning on her. 

That did really make her feel better, honestly. At least then she wouldn’t be the only new face to everyone. She nodded and smiled back at him, solidifying her decision. 

“We’ll be down for dinner on time, I promise. Now get out of here so we can unpack, yeah? I mean, we did  _ just _ get here,” Tim said, pulling Danny into one last tight hug before shooing him out the door with a final exchange of “love you”s. 

Once the door shut behind him, Sasha let out a small sigh and sat down on the bed. It all felt so… real, now. 

“What did you tell Danny about me?” she asked, looking up at Tim. He’d been hovering by the door, almost like he was unsure what to do, which was so unlike him. It was weird, like he was guilty, which she had no idea why he would be. “I’m not angry or anything, makes sense that you’d tell Danny about everything in your life. Just… Curious, I guess. Does he know about… everything that happened with us?” she clarified, worrying her bottom lip again. 

She could see the sparkle in Tim’s eyes dim and she didn’t even need to hear it to know his answer. “Yeah, I… I mean, we talk about… Everything. The good and the bad,” he said with a deep sigh. 

Sasha just nodded, taking it all in. She hated that she was, once again, the reason he was upset. Hated that she’d been so focused on trying to further her career that she stopped herself from having  _ this _ , what they were pretending to have now. And now she didn’t even have the promotion to show for it. “Right, okay. I just wanted to make sure. Guess all the more reason to make sure this,” she gestured between the two of them, “is believable.” 

Tim gave her a small smile, but she could tell it didn’t meet his eyes. “Thanks, Sash,” he said softly, coming over to sit on the bed beside her and giving her a one-armed hug. 

“No need to thank me, Tim,” she said quietly, letting herself lean into the hug for just a moment. “Alright, now let’s get ready. I want to freshen up a little bit before this big family dinner, yeah?”

Tim seemed to accept this change of topic with ease, his familiar grin sliding easily back into place. “Yeah, alright. Dinner starts in half an hour, so we can head down soon.” 

* * *

Dinner turned out a lot better than Sasha expected. Of course, she figured it would be fine when they walked downstairs, hand in hand, but it was actually really enjoyable? Mrs. Stoker,  _ Sandy _ the other had insisted, was actually hilarious and Sasha could see where Tim got it all from. Sandy had been more than willing to tell story after story of the antics that Danny and Tim got up to when they were kids. And then Mr. Stoker was the sweetest person she’d ever met, clearly the one bearing the burden of being the only calm one of the family. Sasha was rather proud of herself when she managed to crack a few jokes with him and made the whole table all laugh by telling a couple stories of her own about Tim’s antics at work. Danny was the one most excited to hear about those, nudging Tim in the ribs every so often. Even Poppy’s family had been nice to talk to. Of course, everyone there seemed so interested in their job at the Institute, but seemed to be let down when she just waved them off and told them how it was really just like a normal desk job, but maybe with a little added spookiness. All in all, when they got back to their hotel room a couple hours later, she still had a bright smile on her face that had nothing to do with the couple glasses of wine she’d had. She felt like she’d actually made a great impression and they all made her feel like she really was welcomed as part of the family. She hadn’t even noticed that she and Tim were still holding hands all the way back, despite the fact that no one was around to see them. 

“Your family is… Well, they’re rather perfect, aren’t they?” she said as he unlocked their hotel room, only letting go of her hand so he could open the door.

“Don’t know if I’d go  _ that _ far, but they’re pretty amazing, yeah. Sorry mum practically talked your ear off the whole time, she’s even chattier than me,” he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Sasha just waved him off, not allowing any apologies about his family. “I’ll have you know I  _ loved _ talking with your mum. You’re just embarrassed she gave me so much blackmail material. I’m still in awe at how you and Danny really managed to cover your  _ entire _ house in flour just trying to make your dad a birthday cake.  _ How _ on  _ earth _ did you manage that?” she laughed as Tim’s cheeks flushed a little. 

“Listen, I was  _ ten _ , I don’t know why mum insists on telling that story all the time! We didn’t know how to make a cake!” he defended, crossing his arms and pouting a bit. 

She couldn’t help but think how adorable he looked right there, it made her want to kiss his pout away. She blamed that thought on the alcohol, despite knowing full well that the wine had nothing to do with it. “We should get to bed, big day tomorrow and you’ve got to be up early with Danny,” she said, trying to get her mind elsewhere. Besides, she was actually feeling exhausted, it had been a long day.

He smiled easily at her and nodded, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah, alright. You definitely need some sleep anyway. Want to take the bathroom first or shall I? I’ll warn you, I’m going to take a quick shower before bed.”

“You go on, I’ll get dressed out here and wash up when you’re done,” she said, already starting to rummage around in her suitcase for her pajamas. 

Sasha did her best not to put too much thought into the fact that they were about to share a bed for the night, not wanting to think about the last time they’d done so. She mindlessly went through the motions of getting dressed into a soft t-shirt and cotton shorts and tying up her hair. She’d just finished wiping off her makeup in front of the bedroom mirror when Tim opened the bathroom door, his hair dripping and only wearing a pair of joggers. Sasha almost choked, but she managed to cover it up well enough with a cough. Even still, Tim immediately looked over at her in alarm. God, she’d really shouldn’t have said yes to pretending like this. Sure, she could handle all the family in the world, but did he really have to walk around looking like that?

“You alright, Sash?” he asked, making her realize she’d been staring for a moment. 

“Yeah, sorry, just... You startled me. Maybe I had a bit too much wine tonight, I think. It’s fine. I’m just going to run and brush my teeth, be out in a tic,” she said quickly, grabbing her toiletries and quickly shutting the bathroom door behind her. Maybe she spent the first few minutes behind the door just trying to get her brain to think straight, but could anyone really blame her?

With a clean face and clean teeth, Sasha took one last deep breath and walked back into the bedroom, noticing that the main light was turned off and just their bedside lamps were on. Tim had, thankfully, put on a shirt and was already cozied up under the blankets. He was focused on something on his phone, but when he heard her step out into the room he looked up at her and gave her the brightest smile she’d seen all night, which did nothing but make her stomach start doing somersaults. 

“Ready for bed?” he asked, plugging his phone in and setting it down on the table, flicking off his light in the process.

“Yeah, ready for tomorrow?” she asked quietly, crossing the room and making herself comfortable on her side of the bed. She was both grateful for and despised the fact that the bed was large enough to have space between them. She really needed to pull herself together.

“More than ready. Also can’t wait to finally see the dress you picked out,” he said, sending her a wink. 

Sasha felt her cheeks heat up as she flicked off her light, grateful the darkness could hide it. “Just another few hours and you can see it. Goodnight, Tim.”

“G’night, Sash. Love you.”

“Hm, love you, too,” she whispered, letting her eyes slipped closed and thinking about just how fucked she was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tim is the kind of guy that needs to remind everyone in his life that he loves them; he and I are very alike in that respect.
> 
> I hope this made up for the last chapter being so short lmao. I was actually worried this one would actually be short since the pov change wasn't entirely planned for, but clearly it was the exact opposite of that. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading and commenting and the kudos, they're really appreciated. And thanks to my best friend, @pepperpotsnpans, for betaing. I love you, bitch.


	5. Chapter 5

The soft chimes of his alarm were what woke Tim promptly at seven-thirty the next morning, causing him to let out a soft groan as he reached out a hand to quickly shut it off. The first thing he noticed when he finally blinked his eyes open was that he was far too warm. The  _ second _ thing he realized was that he was far too warm because Sasha seemed to be curled up against his chest. He didn’t know what to think as he stared down at her. Clearly, she was still completely out, half on his chest under the covers. It didn’t seem like he had minded in his sleep, either, since his arm was comfortably around her, holding her close. He closed his eyes again, counting to ten in his head. He didn’t need to focus on this, not now at least. The bed wasn’t  _ that _ big, it was bound to happen. It just made sense that they’d gravitated towards each other in their sleep. It didn’t mean anything, he told himself. Sadly, that did nothing to calm his beating heart.

Once he was done slowly counting to ten, Tim opened his eyes again and slowly, very carefully, slipped out from under Sasha. He froze when she made a noise, her brows furrowing deeply. He didn’t want to wake her, didn’t want to embarrass her or scare her off. Not like last time. However, she seemed to settle back into sleep easily. He let out the breath he’d been holding, gently pulling up the blanket to cover her up. He swallowed hard and leaned down, pressing a kiss on her temple before quickly turning and heading into the bathroom. 

Tim splashed some water on his face, trying to get his mind back in order. He had far too much to do today to focus on his unrequited feelings. He finished up in the bathroom quickly and slipped into a pair of slippers so he could walk downstairs to grab them both some breakfast and coffee downstairs. Well, he intended to have tea, but he knew Sasha would want coffee instead. 

He shook his head again and let out a sigh, quietly shutting their room door behind him and making his way downstairs. Thankfully, not too many people were awake yet, so he didn’t have to deal with talking so early in the morning. At least, he didn’t think he would, until someone came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder, making him come close to dropping the muffin he’d grabbed. 

“Since when are you a morning person?” Danny asked, making Tim huff out a laugh, elbowing his brother in the ribs. 

“I’m only a morning person when  _ someone _ needs me to help him prepare to get married. If it were up to me, I’d be asleep for another few hours, especially with how late we were up last night and all the wine you kept passing around,” he groaned, rubbing at his eyes before adding another muffin to his plate for Sasha. 

Danny only chuckled and grabbed a pastry, immediately taking a bite of it. “Don’t act like I was the one pushing the wine. You seemed perfectly content asking for me to refill your glass. Besides, it was fun sitting around all night and chatting, we haven’t done that in ages! And God, why have you been keeping Sasha from us? She’s hilarious! Fit right in with us all! Mum couldn’t stop gushing about her after you two turned in for the night.”

Tim felt his stomach drop, but he did his best to not show it. God, of course Sasha would make his family fall in love with her, just like she’d done with him. It really was going to make it hurt so much worse when he told them they broke up. “Oh, you know, just wanted her to myself for a while. You know how mum is, she’ll probably insist on me bringing her to all the family dinners now,” he tried, focusing intently on the pastries and just trying to remember which ones Sasha liked so she could eat upstairs when she woke up. 

“Yeah, I get that. Didn’t bring Poppy to meet mum until around six months, which I guess is about how long you two have been dating, right? So  _ I suppose _ I forgive you, but I definitely agree with mum. She  _ has _ to come to family dinners!” he said, seeming to accept his excuse without much question. Tim thanked pretty much every god out there for the fact that Danny hadn’t had coffee yet. 

“I’ll talk to Sash about it, up to her, really,” he said, picking up the plate and walking over to the table where all the coffee pots were laid out. 

Danny followed him over and nodded, pouring himself a cup of coffee and taking a sip from it immediately, making Tim gag. “Oh shut up, it’s good, not like that sugary shit you like,” he laughed. 

“I’ve no idea how you can drink that shit. Disgusting bean juice, really. At least when Sash drinks it she puts  _ something  _ in it.” Tim just rolled his eyes, pouring a cup of coffee and adding in two sugars and just a splash of milk before turning to make himself his cup of tea, with five sugars of course. 

When Tim glanced over at his brother, he was smiling fondly at him, which just made Tim even more confused. “I’m glad you’re happy, Timmy. Really. Sasha seems really good for you,” he said, making that pool of dread return to the pit of Tim’s stomach. 

He managed a smile, swallowing down the pit that formed in the back of his throat. “Thanks, Danny,” he said quietly, lightly bumping their shoulders together. “Now, stop it. It’s your wedding day. This is about you today. You eat up and drink your coffee and I’ll be up to help you soon, yeah?”

“Alright, alright. Go bring your girlfriend breakfast while I eat alone, missing my almost-wife dearly.”

Tim rolled his eyes again, this time a bit more fondly. “You’ll live, I promise. You planned this! Wrote up an itinerary mapping out practically every minute, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re fine. Tell Sasha I said good morning. Love you.”

“Love you, too. See you in a bit.”

When Tim got back to their bedroom, he did his best to maneuver opening the door while holding two paper cups and a plate full of pastries. After a moment of trying, he accepted defeat and set down the cups on the floor and quietly opened the door, unsure if Sasha was still sleeping. However, when he looked over at the bed he was met with a confused Sasha looking back at him. “Hey, I brought breakfast,” he said in way of explanation, grabbing the cups from the floor and holding them up to show her. 

That seemed to make her relax a little, shuffling out of the bed and over to him. “Ah, thought you’d left already to help Danny,” she said, grabbing the cup he held out to her and snagging a muffin from the plate. 

“Nah, not yet. I will after breakfast, though. Danny says hi, though, by the way. Saw him downstairs. Anyway, I hope it’s alright that I’m leaving for like most of the day? I know I invited you to the wedding and I won’t even see you for most of it. I mean, you can still sit on our family’s side of the aisle and all that, of course. Mum will probably insist, actually,” he rambled, cutting himself off with a sip of tea in order to stop himself. 

“Tim, stop it. I figured this would happen, don’t worry. Besides, gives me plenty of space to get ready without you hovering,” she said with a grin, taking a sip of her coffee and humming in satisfaction. 

Tim just smiled, glad she didn’t seem to mind, and grabbed a pastry of his own. “Alright, good. After breakfast, I’ll be gone again for a couple of hours before I have to come back to get dressed. Don’t forget to be ready and seated by one, yeah?” 

“I’ll be ready, I promise. Don’t worry.”

* * *

After breakfast, Tim immediately headed down the hall to help Danny with everything. He ran down the checklist, making sure everything was perfect. It had to be, his baby brother was  _ getting married _ . With so much to do, it served as a perfect distraction from his inner turmoil with Sasha. Right up until it was time for him to finally get changed into his suit, of course. 

He opened the door, mind whirring with thoughts of what he needed to do next, but everything stopped when he saw her. Sasha was leaning in close to the mirror in the bedroom, fussing with her hair, wearing the dress she’d told him about. 

“You look gorgeous,” he said, mouth moving before he could even think. It was true, though. She looked absolutely gorgeous. The butter-yellow dress matched his tie perfectly and looked amazing on her. He really couldn’t even find words to describe how amazing she looked. 

Sasha seemed to be blushing, trying to brush off his compliment with an eye roll. That snapped him back into reality. They were just friends, he told himself, he shouldn’t be making it weird. 

“I mean, you look really good, Sash. I think spending those two hours in the dress shop paid off well,” he said, managing a half smile as he forced himself to walk into the room and over to the wardrobe. 

“Thank you. Didn’t want to be out of place, I suppose, especially not after I saw what you were wearing. You clean up nicely, Stoker,” she said, a laugh in her voice. 

“I can look proper when I want to!” he cried back, grabbing his suit and heading towards the bathroom. “In fact, you’ll get to see the live process of me cleaning up,” he said, giving her a salute before closing the bathroom door. He could hear her laughter on the other side, which only made him sigh harder. He only had a few more hours of this and damn was he going to cherish them. 

He did his best to not spend his usual twenty minutes looking in the mirror as he fussed with getting his hair  _ just right _ . After ten minutes of playing with it, he shrugged on his suit jacket and draped his tie around his neck, reemerging from the bathroom. Sasha was sitting at the desk, adding a few final touches to her makeup, still taking his breath away. He tried not to focus on that, though. 

“Told you I can clean up nicely,” he said, sitting down on the bed to pull on his socks and dress shoes. 

She snorted and turned to look at him, pushing her glasses up high on her nose again. “I have to admit, Stoker, you do look good,” she said after a few moments of looking at him. He grinned back, standing back up and furrowing his brow for a moment as he held onto the two ends of his tie. 

In all honesty, he hated ties. Always had. Didn’t even like buttoning his shirt all the way up, leaving the top couple buttons undone was just a much better look. That wasn’t exactly an option for this, though. He was about to pull out his phone to google how the hell to tie the thing when Sasha stood up and walked over, stopping right in front of him.

“Give me it, I’ll do it,” she said, as if sensing his distress. 

He smiled back at her, popping his collar and letting go of the tie. Tim swallowed hard as he watched Sasha’s hands make quick work of it. She was so close to him now, it would be so easy to lean down and kiss her. If only he could. 

“Done,” she said softly, looking up at him. He could’ve sworn he saw her glance down at his lips, but that had to have been wishful thinking. He could definitely see the blush color her cheeks, but she didn’t immediately move out of her space.

“Thanks,” he said quietly, not daring to be the first to break eye contact. 

After another moment, Sasha looked away and cleared her throat. “You better get going, yeah? Rather certain you have pictures to get to.”

He nodded and let out a breath, smoothing his collar down and taking one last glance at himself in the mirror. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said, walking over and pressing a kiss on the top of her head. “Love you, Sash. See you later, yeah?” 

  
“Yeah. Go be the _best_ man,” she said, making him laugh as he walked out the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a link to the dress I had in mind for Sasha wearing. I spent ages sorting through dresses in order to find one I liked best for her for this wedding.   
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f3/2b/91/f32b91dc7706c00feaf45478a6f3e6cd.jpg
> 
> Also, I know nothing about how weddings work or the duties of a best man, so that's why I'm intentionally avoiding talking about it lmao. It's fine, the story is about Them, not the wedding. But if you were wondering, Danny doesn't have any other groomsmen and Poppy doesn't have a line of bridesmaids. They didn't want a big wedding party. Just the best man, maid of honor, and then they have two flower girls and a ring bearer. The one flower girl is related to Poppy somehow and the other two children are from Danny's side of the family. Just fun facts that mean nothing to the story lol.
> 
> Thanks again to my beta, I wouldn't be posting this shit without her. (Also, you should thank her for the last like 400 words because they wouldn't exist without her). And thank you all for reading! The next chapter is the last one!!


	6. Chapter 6

The wedding was like one out of a storybook and there wasn’t a dry eye in the audience. Even Sasha couldn’t help but shed a few at the happy couple and she was hardly a crier. Danny and Poppy were just so in love and everyone could see it. All throughout the ceremony, though, Sasha’s gaze drifted over to Tim. He stood beside his little brother looking just so proud and happy, crying freely as he watched Poppy become part of his family. It made her heart swell. 

She didn’t get to talk to him much between the ceremony and the reception, as he was whisked away for pictures and had various things to take care of. Even during dinner she barely got to say more than a few words to him. Sasha didn’t mind too much, though. She sat beside him, unable to stop herself from smiling and laughing along with everyone else as he gave his best man speech, full of stories of his and Danny’s childhood. He had them all close to tears again by the end when he cried about just how happy he was that he now had a little sister. When he sat back down, she couldn’t help but reach over and take his hand in her own, giving it a light squeeze. He seemed grateful for it, giving her a watery smile back. God, she wanted this to all be real.

When the dancing began, it seemed like absolutely everyone needed a dance with Tim before she could get her turn. Sasha watched as he danced along happily with Poppy, Poppy’s maid of honor, his mum, as well as every single child that came up to him, tugging on his suit jacket. She didn’t mind too much, though, just stood back sipping lightly on a glass of wine and chuckling to herself as he tried to maneuver with a little girl standing on his toes. He just seemed so at ease, so happy, it was hard not to smile watching him. She was so focused that she didn’t even notice Tim’s mum come up beside her. 

“He’s such a sweetheart, isn’t he?” Sandy commented, glancing at her and then nodding over in Tim’s direction, just as he attempted to twirl the little girl. 

“He is, yeah. An absolute hit with the kids, I haven’t even gotten to see him since dinner,” she chuckled, blushing a little at having been caught. 

Sandy just laughed and shook her head a bit. “He’s always been like that. Just has always wanted to make sure everyone is happy. It’s gotten him into trouble sometimes.” 

The way she said that made Sasha furrow her brow. “What do you mean?” she asked, turning to look over at her. 

“My poor Timmy just has a habit of putting other people’s feelings before his own. He’ll do everything in his power to make sure the people he cares about are happy, even if it kills him,” she said quietly, a sad smile on her face. The pool of guilt in Sasha’s stomach sloshed uncomfortably as she knew all too well what Sandy meant. She didn’t even know what to say to that, but it seemed she didn’t have to as his mother continued. “I’m glad he has you. I can see the love in his eyes when he looks at you. You make him really happy, Sasha,” she finished, turning back over to look at Sasha as the music began to die down. “He loves you so much.”

Sasha took a big sip of wine and did her best to smile back at Sandy. “I love him, too,” she said quietly, grateful for the announcement being made so she didn’t absolutely lose it in front of Tim’s mother. 

“Oh, it’s time for the bouquet toss!” Sandy said, the excitement clear in her voice, as the dancefloor was cleared and all of the unmarried people were called to the floor. Sasha figured she would be content with watching from the sidelines, but Sandy was having none of that. “Go on, Sasha! Who knows, maybe you’ll be the next Stoker,” she said with a wink, taking the wine glass from her hand. 

As much as Sasha really didn’t think it was a good idea, she already knew better than to argue with Tim’s mum. Tim gave her a look as she moved onto the floor, but Sasha just nodded back towards where his mum was standing, a big grin on Sandy’s face, which seemed to be an explanation he perfectly understood. He mouthed a small “sorry” at her, but she just shrugged and joined the crowd of a handful of other women, as well as all of the eager children. 

She really hadn’t intended to even try to catch it, figuring she’d let one of the excited kids grab it. However, when Poppy counted down and the bouquet was tossed into the air… Well, it had been coming right for her, she probably would’ve been smacked in the face with it if she hadn’t reached out and grabbed it on impulse. She hadn’t even fully realized what she did until everyone around her started clapping and she heard a few wolf whistles, making her blush.

“Alright, Sash!” Danny laughed from somewhere, “I better be the best man at your wedding, Timmy!” 

Sasha felt like her face was on fire, but she managed a laugh with everyone else, glancing around until she met Tim’s gaze. She could see in his eyes his nervousness, but he was doing his best to laugh along with his brother and everyone else. 

“You going to congratulate your future bride, or what?” Danny asked, making them both blush. 

Tim clearly said something back to him, but she really couldn’t hear it. She watched as he walked over to her, deciding to meet him halfway. Hugging Tim was easy, it was comfortable, so she threw her arms around his neck and let out another small laugh. “Fate decided that one, it was almost like Poppy was aiming for me,” she told him, making him laugh a little. 

“Probably was, she and Danny probably conspired so he can tell more embarrassing stories about me,” he said quietly. That gave her a good laugh. “Sorry.”

“We need pictures of Sasha with the bouquet!” Sandy called out, ushering the photographer over. 

“Sorry about her,” Tim said again quietly, but Sasha just shook her head. 

“Don’t be, I wasn’t lying when I said yesterday that I adore your mum,” she said, focusing on him while the photographer seemed to start taking photos. “I don’t mind.”

“Oh, don’t look so embarrassed, Tim. You’ll thank me later for these pictures! Just go back to acting all in love, yeah?” 

“Come on, smile for the pictures. I really don’t mind,” she said, pulling him a little closer. When she looked back up at him, it sort of clicked just how close they were. She remembered back when they decided on their boundaries, how they both agreed that kissing would only happen when it seemed right. And… Well, she couldn’t think of a time when it would be any more right. Leaning up, she just barely brushed their lips together. The kiss was over just as fast as it started. It could barely even be considered a kiss, but she couldn’t believe she’d done it and it seemed like Tim couldn’t either. The smile he gave her barely reached his eyes and she could see that there was something sad there. The regret pooled in her stomach almost instantly. 

“Alright, let’s get back to dancing!” Sandy called, bringing Sasha back to the present. “Tim, darling, why don’t you finally let Sasha have a dance with you.”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Sasha agreed just as Tim opened his mouth, probably to protest. He looked back down at her, furrowing his brow a little, but nodded. 

When the music started back up again, everyone else returned to the dance floor, this time for a slow song. She stayed close to him, arms around his neck, and let out a slightly shaky breath. They swayed back and forth slowly to the music, barely lifting their feet from the floor, just like the couples around them. With all the couples on the dance floor, it gave her the perfect opportunity to talk with him. She couldn’t keep up with pretending anymore, she needed to say something. 

“I’m really sorry about them all,” Tim said immediately, catching her off guard. 

Sasha frowned a little, shaking her head and looking up at him. “Don’t be. Really. I meant it, your family is great,” she reassured him. “Besides, I’ve loved meeting them all and spending time with them. I’m glad you brought me.” 

“Still, I’m sorry that you’re sort of grouped in with their teasing,” he added a little quieter.

“Tim, stop apologizing. You have no reason to. If anything…” she took a deep breath here, swallowing hard. “If anything, I’m the one who needs to apologize.” At this, he seemed confused, clearly unsure what she would need to apologize for. “I… I want to say I’m sorry for everything that happened before, the last time we tried to… You know.”

His eyes widened at that, immediately shaking his head. “Sasha, you don’t have to-”

“No, I do, though. You deserve at least that much,” Sasha cut him off. “I… I was scared that being with you would somehow affect my chances of getting the Head Archivist position so I pushed you away. I thought doing that would make me safer, that I could just focus on my career. And then… And then I didn’t even get the job  _ and _ I lost you. I thought I messed up royally,” she said with a humorless laugh. She looked up at him and gave him a sad smile. “But then we got close again. You let me back in, which I still don’t know if I really deserved, but you did. And god am I grateful for that. But… I was scared of losing you again. Scared that I would somehow mess it up again. I am  _ still _ scared of that, terrified, really. I can’t keep holding onto this, though. I… What I’m trying to say is…” she paused, looking up into his eyes. He seemed to be hanging onto her every word, that slight furrow between his brows. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m in love with you and I’m so scared of messing things up again. I can’t lose you a second time, Tim,” she whispered the last bit. 

Despite the fact that they were still swaying slowly to the music, the rest of Tim seemed to freeze. She let him have that moment, letting him decide on his words while he searched her face for whatever answers he needed. “You mean that? For real, not... Not for whatever show we’re putting on for my family?” he asked very quietly. 

“This has nothing to do with your family… If anything, being here and with them only pushed me to tell you.”

Tim nodded slowly, a small smile coming to his lips. “I’m absolutely terrified, Sash. I can’t lose you again, either, but… God, you’ve got to know I’m in love with you, too, right?” he asked. 

She’d had all of his family gush about how much he loved her, even Martin had said something of the sort, but hearing him say it made her heart leap into her throat. “I’d hoped.”

He just let out a small laugh, shaking his head. “I’m lost on you, Sash,” he said quietly, stopping their swaying as the music came to an end. 

She just smiled up at him, glancing down at his lips for a moment before deciding that  _ this _ was the right time. She leaned up and pressed their lips together, her eyes slipping shut. 

When they pulled apart, a cheery pop song was starting to play, but neither of them seemed to care much as they stood there. “I love you, Timothy Stoker,” she said quietly, smiling as she said it this time. 

Tim grinned widely, his proper smile this time, the one that made his eyes twinkle. “And I love you, Sasha James.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this. I can't believe I finished writing a fic in the year of our lord 2020, this is wild. I haven't finished a multi-chapter fic since like 2012. I really hope you liked it. And thanks Jonny for somehow making me write for the first time in like 6 years. 
> 
> Big thank you to @pepperpotsnpans for startling the hell out of me when you appear in my google doc at 12am to write something dumb in the comments. For more TimSasha content, go read her fic that I am betaing lmao. 
> 
> Stay tuned, I have more fic ideas in the works. Follow me on tumblr @steamingcupoftea or my magnus sideblog @ijustlovetim.


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